East Salinas homeowners feel left out of Tiburcio Vasquez school process

Residents of Salinas' newest neighborhood want Alisal Union School District trustees to reconsider the name for their yet-to-be-completed elementary school.

Virginia Mendoza, coordinator for the Monte Bella Community Association, delivered a letter to Alisal trustees on Wednesday asking them to discuss in open session the possibility of changing the school's name and how its presence will affect the community.

Monte Bella residents have not been included in the process to build or name the school, Mendoza said, and they are the ones who will be most affected. Homeowners in the East Salinas neighborhood are paying for the school through development fees.

"One of the reasons is the name," Mendoza said, referring to Tiburcio Vasquez, which has sparked much controversy in Salinas and beyond. "We have not been taken into consideration. We didn't even know that school was going to be built."

Alisal trustees agreed to name the district's 12th school after a famed early Californian convicted and hanged for murder. Officials have defended the selection, saying that Vasquez lived in a time when Mexicans were persecuted and that he was unfairly convicted.

Opponents to the name say children should not be looking up to a criminal, especially not in a community that suffers from so much gang violence.

But Mendoza said the name is just one reason Monte Bella residents are concerned. Homeowners were under the impression the school would not materialize, she said, and now they are worried about traffic and other issues that could affect the neighborhood.

"Last we heard, the school was not going to be built. Then they had a groundbreaking," Mendoza said. "We have not been given any information."

The first time they learned anything about the school was when a flyer was distributed to each home describing the life of Vasquez, she said.

As part of the approval of the Monte Bella subdivision in 2003, developers had to include plans to build an elementary school. The 200-acre development was to include about 853 homes, but about a third of the project remains unfinished.

Mendoza said about 80 percent of Monte Bella residents oppose the name of Tiburcio Vasquez, and they will continue lobbying until it's changed.

In the meantime, Alisal trustees appointed Roberto Nuñez as principal for the new school. Furniture is being purchased for the school, with the input of teachers, according to a union representative.

Trustees, who remain steadfast in their support of the school's name, did not comment on the issue during Wednesday's meeting.